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Thursday, 12 November 2015

An encounter with a beautiful butterfly has me on a mission to encourage more butterflies. I love the idea of having masses of butterflies flutter through my garden. They are beautiful to watch and perform valuable pollinator services.

The fact that butterflies start their life as caterpillars has some gardeners considering butterflies as pests. But the amount the larvae eat is negligible and is outweighed by their positive contribution as a pollinator and garden ornament.

The first step in welcoming butterflies and other beneficial insects into your garden is to use organic gardening methods.

When you spray pesticides to rid your garden of bad bugs, you are also killing the beneficial bugs.

Learn to expect and accept a few nibbled leaves and focus on building healthy soil using compost and manures.

In a healthy and diverse garden you’ll rarely see any particular insect get out of control.

Next - grow butterfly host and food plants

To encourage butterflies you need to provide resources for both the caterpillars (host plants) and butterflies (nectar).

Grow a diversity of plants and you will more than likely provide host plants and nectar plants for a selection of butterflies.

Grow plenty of these plants and you'll be providing plenty of caterpillar food.

Thankfully, the bushland area adjacent to my garden hosts a nice range of species within these families.

I'm also going to set up a small native butterfly garden especially for caterpillar food and butterfly forage.

For the caterpillars I’ll grow a range of native grasses, sedges, rushes, shrubs, herbs and climbers. On my list so far are kangaroo grass (shown above), weeping grass and species from the following genera: lomandra, acacia, daviesia, glycine, hardenbergia, commelina, bursaria, pultenaea, boronia and pimelea.

A small wild area like this could be set up in even the smallest corner of an urban garden. And many of these plants will do well as potted plants.

Butterfly caterpillars also feed off many of the plants you may have in your orchard or potted garden (e.g. citrus, bay tree, avocado and figs) or vegetable garden (for example lemon grass, peas, and beans). Maintain a healthy diverse vegetable garden and orchard and you’ll likely encourage butterflies by default.

Butterfly attracting plants

Butterflies are attracted to bold clusters of flowers in bright colours.

Nectar-giving flowers favoured by butterflies are typically long and tubular and occur in clusters. Butterflies have a long, delicate, coiled tongue (called a proboscis) that is good at sucking nectar from deep within flowers.

Many common herbs also provide nectar for butterflies – including sage, chives, dill, lemon balm, mint, oregano, parsley and thyme.

Interested in learning more about pollinators in your garden?

Join in next week's Australian Wild Pollinator Count.

The Wild Pollinator Count is a great opportunity to familiarise yourself with some of the beneficial bugs in your garden and contribute to wild insect pollinator conservation in Australia. The next count run 15-22 November. Find out how to join in here.

Originally published in the Newcastle Herald Monday 19th October 2015.

Tuesday, 03 November 2015

There are masses of 28-spotted ladybirds feasting on my potato patch and gobbling my zucchini leaves.

The majority of Australian ladybirds are beneficial. But there’s a handful of ladybird species that are far from helpful. It’s important to be able to distinguish the good guys from the bad – because you don’t want to accidentally squish one of your garden helpers.

The majority of Australia’s 500 species of ladybirds are great garden helpers.

They prey on sap-sucking garden pests including aphids, scale insects and mites.

In my garden at the moment I've noticed the common transverse ladybird and....

..the spotted amber ladybird.

Both are particularly abundant in my sweetcorn patch.

These good guys are welcome in my garden any-time.

They are presumably feasting on the aphids and mites that are trying to suck sap from my corn plants.

The spotted amber ladybird is so good at managing aphids that it can be purchased as a biological control measure for crops. Eggs are sold on strips of tape that are attached to plants. The larvae then hatch and hunt down aphids. Having these guys in my garden is like having free on-site natural pest control workers busying themselves protecting my plants from pests.

But there are a few ladybirds that are not welcome in my garden.

They are particularly fond of plants in the Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae families, including zucchini, pumpkin, cucumbers, melons, potato, and tomato.

Their numbers can explode seemingly overnight. If left to their own devices, they can defoliate whole plants.

Each time I wander through the garden I squish as many as possible – one of my least-liked garden tasks.

If you don’t like the idea of squashing them, you can push them into a container of soapy water or methylated spirits. Neither method is nice, but in the scheme of things, it’s better than the broad-scale application of pesticides that is used to manage these pests in most commercial crops.

Before you start squishing, it’s important that you can distinguish a good guy from the bad.

You don’t want to squish one of your willing workers.

The easiest way to recognise a 28-spotted ladybird is to watch it. Is it eating leaves? The characteristic windowing or skeletonised leaf damage it leaves behind is easy to recognise.

If you are still not sure then you can count the spots. There's 13 spots on each elytra (wing shield) and two more on its pronotum (bit behind it's head).

The common spotted ladybird, a good bug, is probably the most similar looking, but it has much larger and fewer spots.

The fact that the 28-spotted ladybird has taken off in my garden tells me my plants are stressed.

That doesn't surprise me, because I've been intentionally stingy on the water for my potatoes, thinking they could tolerate it. But apparently not.

I topped up my mulch and watered deeply. Infrequent heavy watering is better than more frequent light watering that might not penetrate the mulch.

We've since had a little rain and the number of 28-spotted ladybirds has decreased considerably.

A outbreak of 28-spotted ladybirds may also be caused by nutrient deficiency. Top-dress with compost and give your plants a good drink of weed tea or seaweed extract and they’ll be more resistant to pests.

If your plants are struggling to deter pests, its also a good idea to check that your soil isn't too acidic or too alkaline. You can pick up a soil test kit from a nursery or hardware store.

In a couple of weeks' time I'll have bucketfuls of stinky liquid fertiliser, rich in minerals and microbes, ready to boost the productivity and resilience of my garden.

Turning weeds into nutrient-rich liquid fertiliser is a great way to use a resource that may have otherwise gone to waste.

Basically, weed tea is made by fermenting weeds in a bucket of water.

The fermentation process creates a liquid fertiliser rich in soluble nutrients and a diversity of beneficial microbes.

The result is not only a boost in productivity but also increased resistance to disease and insects.

What weeds can be used?

I'm making my current brew using Stinging Nettle and Fireweed, which are abundant in my neighbourhood at the moment. But any weed will do. Other weeds I've heard of being used include Clover, Chickweed, Lantana and Scotch Broom.

Fleshy, deep-rooted weeds like Dandelion and Dock are especially good because their roots mine valuable nutrients from deep in the ground.

Weed tea is also a great way to use grass clippings or weeds that you prefer not to compost for fear of spreading weed seeds. For example, I've been tossing Fireweed into a large sealed bucket. A best practice management guide for the control of fireweed suggests it should be placed in a sealed bag and burnt or buried. By first making weed tea, I'm extracting all the nutrients before disposal.

I'm being cautious - and only use edible weeds (e.g. Nettle, Clover, Chickweed, Dandelion and Dock) on edible plants. I use tea from toxic plants (e.g. Fireweed & Lantana) on ornamental plants.

How to make weed tea

The first step in making weed tea is to fill a bucket with weeds. A plastic bucket with a lid is ideal.

Pack the weeds down as tight as possible.

Continue filling and packing until your bucket is around two-thirds full of tightly packed weeds.

Your tea will naturally be colonised by beneficial microbes but you can speed up the process by inoculating it with preservative-free fermented foods such as sourdough starter, sauerkraut, kefir, yoghurt or organic beer or wine.

I added a generous spoon of home-made sauerkraut.

Fill your bucket of weeds with water. If using chlorinated town water, first leave a bucket of water in the sunlight for at least a day so that any chlorine can evaporate.

Hold weeds under the water surface using a brick or large rock, then place a loose lid or cover on the bucket.

How to use weed tea

Before using, you can strain your weed tea through a piece of cloth or a pair of stockings. Straining ensures you don't disperse weed seeds or clog the nozzle of your watering can.

Or, if you aren't concerned about spreading weed seeds or aren't using a nozzle on your watering can, you can simply bucket out the fermented liquid as you need it.

**CAUTION** Try not to spill any weed tea on your hands or clothing. Especially if you are about to run out the door for school pick up. Trust me - it smells REALLY horrible. And the smell lingers - even after repeatedly washing hands with soap and water.

Dilute your strained tea until it is the colour of a weak black or herbal tea.

Dilution rate will vary between batches and will be influenced by the type and quantity of weeds used. Around 1:10 should be a good start.

Over-diluting is far better than not diluting enough, as strong fertiliser can burn young roots or shoots.

Your diluted weed tea can then be poured over the root zone of growing plants.

Don’t apply to vegetables about to be harvested as I'm sure (based on its smell) it doesn't taste good.

Diluted again to half-strength, it also makes a great fertiliser for indoor plants and seedlings.

3. Meaningful movement

Gardening appeals to me far more than spending an hour on a treadmill or in a gym class.

It's meaningful movement.

When gardening I'm actually achieving something. I can see the results immediately. I get a sense of achievement far greater than if I'd spent an hour walking nowhere. A weeded patch or a basket of greens is far more rewarding than a kilometre tally on a screen.

I believe the absence of meaningful physical work is one of the causes of consumerism. Not having meaningful physical work to do each day leaves a gap in our lives that we attempt to fill by consuming.

Garden, forage and DIY and the desire to buy stuff drifts away.

4. Nutrition

The more fruit and vegetables we grow, the more fruit and vegetables we're likely to eat.

If I go to the effort of growing something – I'm going to eat it.

If I have an abundance of kale - I’ll eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

5. Relaxation and stress-relief

Gardening is a very effective way to calm the mind, relax and relieve stress.

All your senses awaken and you become more aware of the present moment. You naturally stop thinking about complications or stresses beyond the garden and instead focus on what you can see, feel, hear, smell and even taste.

6. Brain health

Daily gardening may even decrease the risk of dementia.

When gardening you need to think, learn and be creative. This type of regular brain activity keeps the mind active and may protect it against degenerative diseases.

8. A longer life

Taking that into account, I think I can easily set aside an hour each day to spend in the garden for a couple of months.

Would you like to join me?

I'm sharing my daily #anhourinthegardeneachday pictures over on instagram. The images above are a selection of the images I've shared during the challenge so far. I'm including gardening tips along the way.

There's already a few of us playing along and I'm enjoying the peek into other Spring gardens.

Thursday, 27 August 2015

My first sweetcorn seeds for the season have gone into the ground. I've sown two varieties so far and will be planting at least another three. I didn't plan to grow so much corn, but I couldn't resist. A corn and maize conservation project run by Greenpatch Organic Seeds is now in its third year and Australian gardeners can start to reap its rewards.

So far I've sown Golden Bantam and Balinese. Next I’ll plant Hawaiian and the beautiful multi-coloured Anasazi. I might even do some more seed shopping and add blue and pink mini popping corn to the mix. Blue and pink corn that can be popped is too irresistible.

Being able to grow multiple varieties of corn at the same time is one of the advantages of non-hybrid varieties.

Neville tells me that "planting multiple non-hybrid heritage varieties at once will not affect the flavour or taste of the resulting crop".

In contrast, hybrid varieties of corn shouldn't be grown with other varieties because any cross pollination can ruin their flavour.

Most sweetcorn seed readily available to home gardeners is hybrid.

You’ll notice the F1 on the packet indicating its hybrid status.

Another advantage of non-hybrid varieties is that you can save seed to grow the following year.

Whereas F1 hybrids are sterile and don't produce viable seed.

Saving seed isn't a priority for me this year. Corn is wind pollinated and all my varieties will be cross pollinating with each other. Neville suggests saving seeds from a mixed planting "is a hit and miss as to what it will produce the following season, but that could be an interesting outcome too".

Greenpatch grows up to four varieties on its property each season by staggering plantings to reduce cross-pollination.

"As a general rule we work on five weeks between any two varieties of plantings. It is critical to make sure plants are fertilised and watered well to prevent bolting and possible cross pollination. Pop corns normally take less time to tassel (flower) so it is best to plant them as your first crop," suggests Neville.

Two varieties Greenpatch are particularly proud to be saving are Manning White Maize and Anasazi sweetcorn. "They are both worlds apart," says Neville.

Manning White was bred in the Manning Valley near Taree in the 1930s for the dairy farmers to grow as animal feed. It can be eaten fresh when young.

Anasazi was bred on the other side of the world more than 2000 years ago by the ancient American Indians.

"We’re still searching for seed from Hickory King and Manning Pride – both once grown widely in the Hunter and North Coast regions. We still hold hope that somebody may have some of these seeds," says Neville.

Greenpatch is seeking growers to help with the project. If you are interested – and have some space, gardening experience and a reliable water source (or a secret stash of Hickory King or Manning Pride) – I'm sure Greenpatch would be happy to hear from you.